Government Implements Changes for Special Guardianship of Children

Following the Department for Education’s review of Special Guardianship, the government has set out amended regulations designed to ensure that children living under Special Guardianship Orders (SGOs) are safe in a good, caring, permanent home.

Introduced in 2005, an SGO aims to assist children who can’t live with their birth parents and would benefit from a legally secure placement with one or more ‘special guardians’. Changes in the use of SGOs since then, however, have raised concerns that some special guardians may not always be assessed or supported in a way that puts children’s long term welfare first.

The review of Special Guardianship, which was published in December 2015, involved extensive discussions with a wide range of interested parties. The outcome of it was a clear rationale for creating a stronger, more robust assessment framework for potential special guardians.

As a result, the Government has implemented the following amendments as of the 29th February 2016. Local authorities are now required to report to the court that potential special guardians have the skills to ensure that any placement gives children the best chance of good outcomes in their life through:

• the capacity of the guardian to care for the child now and until the child is 18
• an assessment of the relationship between the child and the prospective guardian
• the ability of the guardian to overcome the impact of any abuse or neglect in early life
• the effect on the child into adulthood of being cared for under a special guardianship order
• the ability of the guardian to manage any risk to the child of any pre-existing relationship between the guardian and the child’s birth parents

At Russell & Russell, we have a specialist family department which deals with these matters on a daily basis. If you would like further information and advice, call us on 01204 399 299 or 01244 405 700.

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Please note that this article is meant as general guidance and not intended as legal or professional advice. Updates to the law may have changed since this article was published.